First Day of School!

Halloween Day was Zach's first day at daycare. I was definitely more apprehensive than he was. As soon as he entered the room, saw all the toys and kids (especially his friend Ella!), he was off! In fact, the rest of the day, I had to deal with the fact that I had forgotten to give him a hug goodbye because I had been distracted filing his supplies and learning the check-in/out procedure. I was almost in tears as I walked home, but didn't feel I should go disrupt him by doing what would make me feel better (yeah, right...I don't think he even noticed I wasn't around!).

He had a great day, and has gone several times since, and seems to really enjoy the teachers, toys, and new friends!

Halloween!

Halloween lasted several days for us:

1. October 30th Halloween Party at the daycare Zach will attend for 1 day a week.


2. October 31st, the actual trick or treating - "tick-uh-teet" "oppy oween!"



3. Several days in advance when we tried on the costume and several days afterward when the costume was nice and warm and conveniently located and used as a jacket!


This year, Zach really got the hang of trick or treating, often digging right into the bowls of candy offered to him. Though, he did often follow that up by offering the candy back to the giver! It was also very important that Zach got to ring the doorbell.

The night was chilly, but Zach and Daddy hit all the decorated houses in our neighbhorhood. And we actually got a few visitors too.

Click title for more pics.

Montana Trip (Oct 22-28)

Wearing a "cradle board" at the Louis and Clark Interpretive Center

One of the most exciting features of Montana, a tractor!

The Wallaces

We didn't make it to Montana this summer, so we drove up at the end of October. It's not a short drive, especially with an energetic 19-month old, so we made lots of stops (he ran up and down the aisles of several grocery stores and around some truck stops), and listened to the Doodlebops CD, and finally resorted to DVDs of Blues Clues and Milo and Otis. We got maybe an hour of napping out of 12 hours of driving (over a couple of days).

Once in Great Falls, we enjoyed days at the park, QT with Grandma and Grandpa, LOTS of TOYS and BOOKS, and just time away. Zach tried out his Halloween costume at a pumpkin patch, but because there was a magnetic tractor at the patch, we couldn't make him sit still near the pumpkins...Scott and Grandpa got a day of hunting in, and we all just marveled at Zach's go-go-go-ness.

On the way home, we stopped in Columbus, MT where Scott's aunt and uncle and grandma live. Zach had a good time running around the ranch that Uncle Butch runs. There was a TRACTOR there! And cows and horses and dogs...The ranch used to belong to Mel Gibson.

(See all the pics by clicking the title)

"Sih-lih-lah-lah" for Daddy

Zach's mouth is stuffed (with fruit leather), and he's working on feeding Daddy some "sih-lih-lah-lah."
Ten points for anyone who can guess what that is! Scroll down for the answer.



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Sih-lih-lah-lah = "Cereal!"

New Boots, 10/17

Check out my new boots, just in time for the snow!
They kept me all toasty, and I didn't want to go inside at all.

Thanks Grandma and Grandpa!

I loved the Baptism gifts you sent - book and Elmo/Cookie Monster phone!

(Oct 16, 2006)

New Mexico (Oct 12-15)

We Wallaces all went to Albuquerque in October. We drove down (LONG drive!) on a Thursday, left Denver at about 9:30a (a little later than expected due to delays involved in cleaning up toys, clothes, and broken glass after Zach pulled the 5-drawer dresser down on top of himself!!! Thankfully, no injuries, just a heckuva scare. We'll secure it to the wall when we get back. Not sure if he was climbing the drawers, or what...). We finally rolled into Albuquerque at about 5:30p, in time for rush hour and Balloon Fiesta traffic.

We came because Scott had to provide support for his ABQ office that was moving locations. Zach and I are supporting him...yeah, right.

Friday morning we got Scott a rental car so Z & I could have our way with the town. After bfast, we walked around Petroglyph National Monument and drove through Old Town Albuquerque.

Coincidentally, while we were in town, the Balloon Fiesta http://www.balloonfiesta.com/ was going on. One of my former coworkers had a booth at the event.

Friday night we went over to the fiesta's “Glowdeo” event (when they just inflate the fun-shapes balloons but keep them on the ground). The blasts of hot air and flames from the furnaces (?) were a little scary for Zach, but it was amazing to see. We actually walked through the field of balloons, and were able to talk to the operators. We also got up early Saturday morning to see the mass ascension – 700+ balloons were supposed to take off at 7am. Unfortunately the traffic was terrible getting into the event (we must have been in the car for over an hour), and then the weather did not cooperate, so from our car window we saw about seventy balloons take off, but then the rest of them were grounded.

So, we returned to the hotel to let Zach nap, then headed to Santa Fe for the night. Sunday, we drove through Taos on our way home. Beautiful cities, both of them.

Click the title to see all the pics. (Not sure why, but I'm only able to add one or two to this main post.)

Whatever's comfortable

Sometimes it's hard to stay in the bed...or maybe it's just more comfy on the floor!

Race for the Cure 2006

We donned our pink and teamed up with the Howells, our friends up the street, to take part in Race for the Cure this year.

It was a great time, riding the bus to the event, strolling with the 60,000+ participants, and even taking a break in the center of the I-25 on-ramp...er, maybe we shouldn't have documented that. The kids made us do it!

Click the title for more pics.

Removing the Crib's Front Gate 10/7/06

At Zach's 18-month appointment, our doctor recommended we transition Zach to a "real" bed before we run into him trying to escape his crib.

So, we did it. We took the front gate off his crib, and put him to bed with real covers and some blankets on the floor for any spills. We cleared the room of anything he could get into (more on that later....), and called it good.

For his first nap, he was NOT happy. He climbed right out of the bed, played with the toys, and then cried at the door for an hour. Finally, he fell asleep curled with a book on the rocker.

Bedtime at night went much better.

Boulder October 2nd

Zach and Auntie Laura and Uncle Chris enjoyed an afternoon in Boulder. Uncle Chris checked out the Subaru's "Tuh-Boh!!" (The Outback has a turbo engine, and Zach learned to say "tuh-boh" when it kicks in, and whenever anything's accelerating - himself included.)

We walked Pearl Street, enjoyed some chocolate and lunch before heading back to the house to pick up suitcases and take the visitors to the airport. Oh, yeah. We can't forget that one of the Pearl Street people (who was probably a little "off") offered to draw Zach on the rocking elephant, "It's only a dollar...I'm very good at what I do...I have a photographic memory..." When he was done with his art, he said, "Most people give me three or five dollars...don't fold that, roll it up." It was drawn on the reverse side of a Boulder siteseeing guide. High class art!

Zach's Baptism

On October 1st, Nana and Pop, Godparents Uncle Chris and Auntie Laura, and Auntie Steph, Uncle John, and Cousins Tommy, Gracie, and Katie all came to watch Zach be baptised at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church.
Highlights:
- Pastor D pulling the Jesus action figure out of his robe for Zach when he got a bit antsy
- Zach sucking on Jesus' head during photos
- Zach shaking everyone's hands when PD took him up and down the aisle to meet the church (prompting a, "You've got quite a little politician there" from someone in the parking lot)

For more pictures, click the title.